ETBU Upsets HSU, Claims Share of ASC Title
11/8/2015 7:17:56 AM
East Texas Baptist 27, No. 7 / 8 Hardin-Simmons 21 – Box Score
MARSHALL, Texas – A championship chapter was written on Saturday in the Josh Eargle era as he coached East Texas Baptist to their first American Southwest Conference championship since 2003. With a 27-21 victory over No. 7/8 Hardin-Simmons, ETBU is now guaranteed a share of the ASC championship as they move to 7-2 overall and 4-0 in conference play.
Staying perfect in the ASC at 4-0, ETBU is the lone undefeated team in the standings. ETBU last claimed an ASC Championship in 2003 when they also shared it with Hardin-Simmons and Mary Hardin-Baylor.
It took a defensive effort and a strong ground game to grind out the six-point win over HSU. ETBU recorded six sacks and 16 tackles-for-loss for a negative-72 yards. The offense finished the day with 209 yards on 64 carries.
Kendall Roberson carried a majority of the ground game with an ETBU single-game record 50 carries for 193 yards. The 50 carries surpasses David Rogenmoser’s 42 from 2004 against Sul Ross State. Roberson also added three rushing touchdowns moving his season total to 22 which leads the NCAA Division III.
It was a team effort on defense all-around as three players had 10 or more tackles. C.J. Johnson had a career day with 12 tackles including eight solo, three sacks (-31 yards), and four tackles-for-loss (-33 yards). Garrett Gibson added 10 tackles with three tackles-for-loss while Sam Williams add 10 tackles. Xavier Davis and Andre Welch each collected a sack and Gibson and Tremell Scott shared a sack.
It was the second possession of the first quarter that ETBU took advantage of the ground game going 84 yards on 19 plays. Of the 19 plays, 17 were rushes as Jourdan McNeill jumped in from one-yard out for the 7-0 lead with 4:45 on the clock. HSU went three-and-out on the next series with a botched punt attempt to set ETBU up on the 20-yard line. Three plays later, Roberson rolled in from 11-yards out for his first of three touchdowns of the day making it 14-0 at the 2:55 mark.
HSU took over the second half scoring all 21-points to regain the momentum. Their first three possessions of the second quarter ended with touchdowns. They cut ETBU’s lead to eight on a missed two-point conversion on a five-yard run at the 12:25 mark. Almost four minutes later, they tied the game at 14 on a 73-yard touchdown pass and then with 5:28 left in the half HSU took the lead, 21-14 on a two-yard run.
Holding the ball seven times in the second half, HSU had to punt five times and turned the ball over on downs twice.
Roberson took over the game in the third quarter driving ETBU 43-yards to tie the game at 21 on a three-yard run. After an 11-yard HSU punt to their 43-yard line, Roberson rushed seven straight times for the touchdown. Each team exchanged the ball until ETBU received it back with 4:59 to go in the third quarter. Taking the ball at the ETBU 28-yard line, Josh Warbington led the team 72 yards on eight rushes and three passes for the go-ahead touchdown. All eight rushes were to Roberson as he finished off the day with a three-yard run for his third touchdown. Cody Gandy and Tyler Bates each had a reception as Gandy’s was a key 26-yard catch on a second-and-seven.
ETBU’s defense dug in deep in the fourth quarter not allowing HSU to find the goal line. HSU drove to the ETBU 33-yard line on its longest drive of the fourth quarter but couldn’t get any closer. Two straight sacks by Davis and then Johnson pushed HSU back to their own 47-yard line bringing up a fourth-and-26 where they punted.
Going three-and-out on ETBU’s next possession, HSU had one last chance to take the lead. With decent field position at the ETBU 40-yard line, HSU’s offense was denied turning the ball over on downs after four plays. They had third-and-four at the ETBU 34-yard line when Johnson and Desmond Oliver sacked the quarterback for a two-yard loss. The quarterback then threw an incomplete pass on fourth-and-six and ETBU took over on downs with 1:22 left in the game. Two straight rushes from Roberson for 15 yards gave ETBU a first down as they ran out the clock for the biggest win in Ornelas Stadium in 12 years.
Warbington finished the game going 13-of-16 for 74 yards as Tyler Bates had 32 yards receiving. HSU, who had the best defense in the ASC only allowing 14 points per game, gave up 27 points to ETBU. HSU threw for 204 yards and rushed for 85.
With the win, ETBU is the only undefeated team in the ASC. They will travel to Belton, Texas, on Saturday, November 14, to face Mary Hardin-Baylor for a chance to claim the outright ASC Championship.
No. 10 / 11 Mary Hardin-Baylor 67, Howard Payne 14 – Box Score
BELTON, Texas – Mary Hardin-Baylor dominated the second half and rolled to a 67-14 win over Howard Payne Saturday afternoon in Belton. The Cru improves to 8-1 overall and 3-1 in American Southwest Conference play with the victory. The loss drops the Yellow Jackets to 1-8 overall and 1-3 in ASC play on the season.
UMHB scored on its opening possession when Zach Anderson hit Wykeyhe Walker with a 14-yard touchdown strike. The Cru missed the extra point and settled for a 6-0 lead. Anderson hooked up with Walker again, this time from 50 yards out to stretch the lead to 13-0 with 5:03 to go in the first quarter. Jacob O'Neill's 33-yard field goal made it 16-0 and DeNerian Thomas scored on a two-yard run on the first play of the second quarter as UMHB opened up a 23-0 lead. Howard Payne wrapped one-yard touchdown runs from Ja'Von Dickson and Patrick Hernandez around Bryce Wilkerson's fumble recovery in the end zone as UMHB took a 30-14 edge into halftime. Jordan Millar hauled in a nine-yard TD toss from Blake Jackson on the opening drive of the second half, Malcolm Miller scored on a 14-yard run and Duane Thompson scored on a 40-yard scamper to give the Cru a 50-14 lead at the end of the third quarter. Thomas caught an 18-yard TD pass from Jackson, O'Neill kicked a 40-yard field goal and Michael Carpenter closed out the fourth quarter scoring with a 40-yard touchdown run to provide the final margin.
UMHB finished with 663 yards of total offense with 354 of those coming through the air. Howard Payne finished with 309 yards of total offense, but managed just 27 of those yards in the second half. The Cru also forced four Yellow Jacket turnovers while not giving the ball away. UMHB also attempted a school record 51 passes in the game.
Anderson was 13-of-33 for 244 yards and two scores and Jackson hit 4-of-9 for 72 yards and two touchdowns. Walker caught six passes for 152 yards and two scores and Thomas had eight grabs for 73 yards and a score to go with three rushes for 20 yards and another touchdown. Thompson ran for 114 yards on just eight carries. Matt Cody topped the Cru defense with 13 total tackles and Tommy Brown added a career-high three tackles for loss.
Richard Young was 15-of-31 for 196 yards for HPU but threw two interceptions. Colby Mica caught five passes for 91 yards before leaving the game with an apparent injury. Fred Pitts had 40 yards on two rushes to lead the Yellow Jacket ground game. Jason Disney had a team-high nine tackles for Howard Payne.
The Cru will close out the regular season with a school-record seventh home game next Saturday. UMHB will welcome East Texas Baptist to Crusader Stadium for a 1:00 p.m. kickoff. The Cru needs a win in that game to keep its hopes for a bid to the NCAA Division III National Championships alive and claim a share of the ASC title with a victory over the Tigers.
Louisiana College 28, McMurry 15 – Box Score
PINEVILLE, La. - Louisiana College sent its 2015 senior class out in style Saturday afternoon, as they took down McMurry 28-15 on a rain-soaked Wildcat Field in the final home game of the season.
With neither team able to get their passing game going due to the constant downpour throughout the day, the Wildcats turned to their dynamic backfield duo of Aurren Cooksey and Brett Sylve, who combined to rush for 275 yards and three touchdowns to lead LC.
Despite racking up 184 total offensive yards compared to just 18 for the Wildcats, the Warhawks would lead only 3-0 after the first quarter on a 31-yard field goal by Joey Silva with less than two minutes remaining in the opening quarter.
The two teams would then show the effects of the sloppy conditions, as both would commit turnovers on each of their next two possessions.
The Wildcats took advantage of the second Warhawks' turnover, a fumble by backup quarterback Xavier Alexander, when Cooksey finished off LC's ensuing drive with a two-yard touchdown at the 12:58 mark of the second quarter to take their first lead of the game (7-3).
After a missed field goal by Silva on McMurry's next possession, the Wildcats turned to their running game, as a 50-yard run by Sylve got LC inside the 10 yard line before Cooksey finished the drive off with a one-yard touchdown plunge on fourth and goal to put LC up 14-3 with 3:06 left in the first half.
After both teams went scoreless in the third quarter, LC extended their lead to 21-3 on their first possession of the fourth quarter on a 26-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Easton Melancon to Lawrence Williams.
That lead would evaporate quickly over the next 10 minutes, however, as the Warhawks scored on a 31-yard touchdown pass from Matthew McHugh to Emmanuel Mulumba to inch closer at 21-9 after a Silva missed extra point.
McMurry then recovering the ensuing onside kick and marched down the field again on a seven-play, 34-yard drive that was capped by a five-yard touchdown run by Dontrell Dock to make it a one possession game at 21-15.
McMurry then recovered a fumble by Cooksey on the Wildcats' first play of their next possession to put them a chance to take the lead with just over four minutes remaining.
But the Warhawks turned the ball over six times on the game and gave it up on the first play of their drive, as LC linebacker Ryan DeMattie forced Dock to fumble a fumble at the Wildcat 39 yard line to take all of McMurry's momentum away yet again.
Sylve would dominate the next drive for the Wildcats, as he carried the ball on all six plays of the drive for 61 yards and his only touchdown of the game to put LC ahead 28-15.
LC junior defensive lineman Cade Maxwell would then shut down the next drive, as he sacked McHugh on the third play of the series, forced a fumble, and recovered the fumble to give the Wildcats the ball back and clinch the home finale win.
Maxwell would finish with one of the most dominant individual defensive performances in school history, racking up 7.0 tackles, 5.0 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery to lead the LC defense.
Sylve led the LC offense with 14 carries for 143 yards, both new career highs, as well as one catch for 22 yards and a 32-yard kick return to push his all-purpose yardage total to 197 for the day.
Cooksey finished with 31 carries for 132 yards and two touchdowns, finishing one yard shy of joining Ryan Montague and Wayne Davis as the only players in school history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season.
The Wildcats close out the 2015 season next Saturday when they travel to Abilene, Texas to take on Hardin-Simmons.
Belhaven 12, Sul Ross State 6 – Box Score
JACKSON, Miss. – The Belhaven defense held Sul Ross State to just 1-of-7 on red-zone attempts and Clayton Webb threw two second-quarter touchdowns as Belhaven capped its inaugural season in the NCAA Division III with a 12-6 victory over the Lobos on a wet senior day at H.T. Newell Field.
Belhaven allowed an early touchdown to Sul Ross falling behind with 5:26 remaining in the first quarter, however the Blazers defense shut down the Lobos for the remainder of the game and forced four turnovers.
The Blazers defense had three interceptions, one each from Isaac Nelson, Martel Myers, and Isaiah Swopes. The final interception caught by Swopes sealed the win for Belhaven and tied a school record for interceptions in a single season. Swopes finishes the year with six interceptions, tying four other players for the record.
Swopes also had a pass breakup in the game, which gave him 12 for the season and tied him for another school record.
For Nelson, it was his fifth interception of the season, finishing one behind Swopes for the team lead.
The three defensive backs that had interceptions in the game also each forced a fumble. Nelson and Swopes both had fumbles forced that stayed with Sul Ross, but Myers' forced fumble late in the fourth quarter was recovered by Queondre Wynn and nullified good field position for the Lobos.
Belhaven used a pair of touchdowns 3:37 apart late in the first half to tie and then take the lead for good.
Webb first connected with Shaquan Holmes on an 8-yard touchdown pass to cap off a nine-play, 77-yard drive, which lasted just 2:21 on the clock.
After the defense quickly got the ball back to the Blazers offense, Belhaven responded again with a 10-play, 75-yard drive in just 2:05 that was capped off by an eight-yard pass from Webb to Nate Williams.
Belhaven was forced to go for two-point conversions on both touchdowns. Earlier in the game, kicker Alonso Acosta was hurt while attempting to make a tackle on a punt return.
Webb finished the game with 214 yards through the air on 21-of-36 passing. Webb moved over 2,000-yards passing on the season, finishing with 2,117 yards.
Tristan Hibbeler came in on one scoring drive to complete 3-of-5 passes for 51 yards.
Williams finished with a team-high six receptions for 68 yards. Kevin Shief also had 68 yards receiving on five catches, while Holmes finished with five catches for 58 yards.
Alvin Vaughn led the Blazers with 14 tackles in the game. The junior defensive back moved into sixth place all time at Belhaven with 209 tackles in three seasons, just two shy of Ricky Wadlington (211) for fifth place.
Vaughn has also led the Blazers in tackles each of the last two seasons with 89 in 2014 and 87 in 2015.
Senior Steven Joiner also moved up the career rankings in his final game. Joiner had five tackles, including two for a loss, which moved him from a tie for fifth to fourth all time in Belhaven history with 27.5 career tackles for a loss.
His two tackles for a loss also gave Joiner the third-highest mark in a single season at Belhaven with 15.5.
In total, the Belhaven Blazers defense had a season-high 97 tackles and 13 tackles for a loss in the game.
Sul Ross State held possession for nearly two-thirds of the game, totaling 38:13 to just 21:47 for the Blazers. However, the Blazers stood tall, holding the Lobos to just seven-of-20 on third-down conversions and two-of-8 on fourth down attempts.
The Lobos received the ball five times to start the drive inside of the Belhaven 35-yard line and the defense held Sul Ross scoreless on each drive.
Four of the last five drives for the Lobos ended in forced turnovers by Belhaven. The Blazers also forced fourth down stops on five occasions inside the Belhaven 25-yard line.
With Belhaven's bye week coming in week 11, the Blazers season comes to an end with wins in each of the Green-and-Gold's last two games at home. The Blazers are set to begin the 2016 season at home on Thursday, September 1, 2016 with the seventh edition of the Riverside Rumble against Millsaps College.